A day after their stunning defeat of Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, the Israeli tennis duo of Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich ran into the American juggernaut known as the Bryan twins at the Olympic Games on Thursday afternoon.

Bob and Mike Bryan, the number-one pair in the world, advanced to the men’s doubles semifinals with a hard fought defeat of the Israelis 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10). Neither side managed a service break the entire match.

Ram and Erlich - known affectionately in Israel as AndYoni - did not go down until the Americans’ fourth match point of the second set, when Erlich double-faulted.

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.